Friendship is Hard Earned
by Gypsii
Summary: Some battle scars can't be seen, but can be felt for life.  A little battle of trust and wills builds the blocks of friendship.


The two opponents circled each other, their boots barely making a sound as they moved across the metal deck plates. She could hear him breathing; hear the tired ache with each breath.

He couldn't hear her. He was far too distracted with the way the lights reflected off her sweat slicked skin.

She smirked, turning her lance over in her hands and sliding into an attack stance. He barely had time to register the move before he had to try and roll out of the way of the deadly blades. She swept the lance wide and cracked him in the back of the knees as he made a clumsy attempt to dodge her first action. There was little he could do but fall, and she was on him before his back even hit the ground.

He knew his only advantage was keeping at range, but he couldn't help it; too many knocks on the head had made him loopy. Or so he would tell his men later. He wouldn't admit to them that he got more than a thrill out of fighting in close quarters with the Pulsan Warrior. They wouldn't speak of it, but as his men watched him repeatedly fall to her, they knew. She was beautiful after all, and most of them wished they could switch spots with their commander, bruises and all.

She pinned him down with her lance across his throat, leaning her muscled weight on it as she shook her head with a playful grin. "You're not even tryin' anymore, are ya?"

A gurgle was the only answer she received as he put both hands under the lance and tried to lift it, but she had all the leverage. The lance didn't budge. She watched with some sadistic glint as the veins in his face and neck began to pop with the exertion and lack of oxygen.

Finally, as spots began to cloud his vision, she lifted the lance and stepped away from him. His chest heaved as his body struggled to pull in enough air to make up for the deficit. After a few minutes, he rolled to his side. He cast a glance to his men, who were _wisely_ not poking fun at his failures. None of them were even brave enough to step foot into the training ring, not as long as she was there.

He looked over to her, where she waited, idly spinning her lance. She was ready for another round, but eyeing him with a little distaste. He wondered if she thought he'd give up. No chance. She was fascinating. Unfortunately, she was as wild as the world she came from. Anyone who wanted to get close to her had to win her trust _and _her respect on the battle field. He knew no man would ever claim her unless he could _take _her. He had no disillusions.. he knew he couldn't even come close to it.

"Y'givin up on me?" She nudged him with her lance, the blades folded into a passive position.

He laughed airily as he got to his feet and slid into a defective stance. No, impossible as it might be right now, he wouldn't give up. At least after two days of this she'd treated him as something of an uneasy friend. The bruises were worth it.

She grinned, the bladed lance once again slipping into attack position. She'd long since realized defense was pointless, he was too weak against her L'cie power, even if she wasn't actively using it.

The soldiers lining the room watched as she quickly took him down again and again and again. Lucky for him Raines called for her. As she headed off excitedly thinking the L'cie they found might be Vanille, a few of the soldiers moved in to help their commander off the floor.

"Sir?" One of them spoke hesitantly, "If you keep doing this until one of you is called away, she just might kill you."

He chuckled softly. "She won't. She's been toyin' with me the whole time." Toying with him like a Behemoth toys with a Chocobo he supposed, but he was confident she'd never push him _that_ far. "S'about honor boys. She's a warrior. Y'wanna shot, you have to prove yourself worthy of it."

The next day, there were several hopefuls willing to train with the mysterious L'cie, but all were disappointed to find she had a new sparring partner. Rydgea was sad for the loss, but his aching body was glad Snow had come to fill in. After all, he already earned the title of friend.. and he was just foolish enough to keep trying for more.. even if he knew it was impossible.

* * *

**So I was offered an interesting challenge: Write something small for an unexpected/unusual pairing. So I thought about it and I figured the little play between Fang and Rydgea had some promise. Bonus challenge because I normally am not fond of writing het couples. **

**Ok, so I cheated a LITTLE. They're not actually together. It wasn't specified they had to be. **

**Anywho, this is just a short oneshot, and I have no intention of doing anything else with it. I just can't forsake my love of Flight that long! This was a nice little exercise to get the juices flowing, so maybe I'll actually be able to get through the next part of Visions (which has been mildly frustrating, so I apologize for the delay on it..)**

**I also have a few other Flight bits in the works, including a supposedly short (and now a bit tardy) holiday oneshot which just keeps getting longer. haha.**

**But I'm not MIA or anyhting, just a rough time of year for me. See you soon!**


End file.
